I stitched this tiny little French sampler not only because I liked it but because my mother's name was M(illie) Thomas. The original sampler was dated 1906 but I changed the date to 1916, the year my mother was born. It is stitched with HDF OMG Red 1149 on walnut ink dyed 48ct Gander linen and measures 3¼" x 3¼". I stained and distressed the frame to age it and I am very pleased with the result. Since we have been decorating I have left a wall ready to hang 'tiny red samplers' and this will be the first to be hung. I have others which need to be framed and plenty that need to be stitched too!

It's very cold here with snow forecast for later - it has already snowed in Dover which is 9 miles from us.

Thanks for visiting and have a good weekend

Take care

Elisa at Old Ragged Threads is having a 3rd blogoversary giveaway on December 23 which will contain lots of lovely goodies handmade by her. Elisa is a wonderful stitcher and finisher so anything made by her is definitely worth winning.

No stitching pictures today although I might frame 'M Thomas' tomorrow so it might be worth visiting again to see this.

I belong to a 'lottery bonus ball' syndicate and on Wednesday I won so I immediately changed the pounds to euros so I cannot spend it until my trip to Paris in February. I have also asked family for euros for my upcoming birthday as I am sure I will need a big fat wallet for this trip!

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As mentioned in yesterday's post, here are the test pieces which I have been dyeing. The bottom left corner sample is the original 48ct blanc cassé Gander linen; the stitching on all samples is done with HDF OMG Red 1149 which thread did not bleed at all. The top left hand sample has been dyed with coffee and the top right hand sample with tea. The bottom right hand sample was dipped very quickly into walnut ink (as I did not want it too dark) but I think a slightly longer 'dip' might be called for which I will do later today. If I am happy with the result of this test piece, I will then use the walnut ink for dyeing my 'M Thomas' sampler and I will post a picture of the dyed and framed piece shortly. The frame is a cheap one which I stained and distressed.

My Christmas ornaments are stitched and now I need a marathon finishing session; I will be glad to get these done. Next year ... I Will Stitch my ornaments during the year!

With my commitment stitching done, I can get back to a sadly neglected Jane Rees. I am looking forward to putting a few more stitches into this one.

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Laurence from Lin,Dentelles et autres passions recently sent me a picture of Sew Pink stitched with 'Fils Dansk Blomstergarn nr 19' thread on 'Lin 14 fils bleu ciel Bleu de Chine'. She has posted a picture on her blog of the fabric that she is going to use to finish this pretty piece of stitching into a pochette. I look forward to seeing her finish. Thank you Laurence for letting me post this here.

Sew Pink is still available *here* or by clicking on the CHARTS button on the sidebar.

If you have any iStitch design you would like to showcase here, please send me a picture and details of fabric and threads used as I am more than happy to post them. My email address can be found on my profile.

The frame I purchased for my little red sampler is now stained/distressed to my satisfaction. As I said in my earlier post *here* I wanted to dye this sampler to make it look old so I stitched up 3 little 'test ABCs' on the same Gander linen I used for the sampler and dyed each sample with tea, coffee and walnut ink respectively. The HDF OMG Red 1149 silk thread did not run on any of these pieces and all took the dyes really well. I will post a picture tomorrow of these, together with the original colour linen. I have yet to dip the original piece but I am leaning towards using the walnut ink for this.

I have stitched five ornaments in the past few days and have one more to go and then I will have a marathon finishing session for these and two others that I stitched before my vacation. Why is it that, despite good intentions to stitch ornaments during the year. they always get left until last thing?

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A new iStitch design released today is Sew ABC. It is stitched on 55ct blanc cassé Gander linen with HDF Rubbed Red silk thread and hem-stitched with HDF Natural. I don't think there is a DMC equivalent to Rubbed Red but this would look lovely stitched in any shade of red or, indeed, any colour at all!

You can find this chart *here* or by clicking on the CHARTS button on the sidebar. You can also have this chart and any other charts you wish to purchase on a cd-rom for a small fee. I can also add any previously purchased charts on the same cd at no extra charge. Please email me for details - my email address can be found on my profile. This would be the perfect Christmas gift for your stitching friends.

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I finished stitching on the main part of my Travelling Sticher SAL with Valerie, Fog City Dweller, during this week. I have yet to stitch the needlecase and to decide how I will finish this. Do you see my new Dovo scissors?

Eurostar tickets and a hotel are now booked for my trip to the l'aiguille en fête in Paris in February. Kirby is coming along too and I will be meeting up with both Valie and Angela. I am so excited ... I am hoping that M. Roulot will be there with his beautiful scissors! Do I need yet another pair (or two) of scissors? Probably not but I just know I will be tempted!

I have completed Sew ABC with a hem-stitched edge. I know I promised a tutorial for hem-stitching but I had great difficulties with producing good step-by-step pictures. I do, however, have a written tutorial with a couple of diagrams which I am happy to share. Email me if you would like a copy - my email address is on my profile.

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*Edited*: I have been asked about the fabric and threads I used for Travelling Stitcher. The linen is 38ct Gander linen (colour Nacre); the threads are an HDF thread conversion:

Tufted Yellow - Lemon Creme

Ladybug - Conchiousness

Brandied Pears - Larks Tongue

Cocoa Bean - Befuddled

Cobbled Peach - Pressed Petals

Bean Sprout - PB Olive

Peanut Brittle - Haystacks

Thanks for visiting and have a lovely weekend

Take care

Thyra (no blog) sent me a picture of her Sew Animalistic which she stitched with HDF Old Maid of the Clay on Sassy's Mink 40ct linen. Thyra says 'It was a fun stitch ... and once I hit the animals I couldn't put it down'! I'm glad you enjoyed stitching this one Thyra and thank you for allowing me to post your picture here.

Sew Animalistic is available *here* or by clicking on the CHARTS button on the sidebar.

It's dark, gloomy, extremely windy and raining heavily today so I am going to work on a bit of personal stitching. I finished stitching the model for Sew ABC last night and will be releasing this shortly. I need to stitch some ornaments for the children; every year I have good intentions of stitching these during the year but ... every year they get left to the last minute!

I have gone back to using the 'old editor' for uploading pictures as the 'updated editor' won't allow me to post pictures. I have been uploading my pictures directly from Picasa which is a bit of a pain. Hopefully Blogger will sort this out at some point.

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Carol from Just Carol has kindly allowed me to showcase her version of Sew Blue. Stitched on 40ct flax Belfast linen with Babbling Brook Belle Soie Silk, Carol finished Sew Blue as a mattress pincushion. She also stitched part of the design which she finished as a matching floss tag. There are some more pictures of Carol's stunning finishes over on her blog. Thank you Carol for allowing me to show this here.

Sew Blue is still available free (with any purchase) *here* or by clicking on the CHARTS button on the sidebar.

I finished stitching my Travelling Stitcher SAL last night and will post a picture tomorrow. This afternoon I will start stitching up the model for Sew ABC - the latest iStitch design.

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There is also a 'Christmas 2010' freebie available with both this chart and with the purchase of any other chart - a picture will follow shortly!

You can find this chart *here* or by clicking on the CHARTS button on the sidebar. Please remember you can also have this chart and any other charts you wish to purchase on a cd-rom for a small fee. I can also add any previously purchased charts on the same cd at no extra charge. This would make an ideal Christmas gift for your stitching friends. Please email for details - my email address can be found on my profile.

If you would like to be added to the new releases Mailing List please let me know.

This is my last 'vacation' picture - I hope you have enjoyed the pictures and have not been too bored by  the daily postings! I am not ready to leave this beautiful paradise for return to a cold and damp Britain but, as they say, all goods things ... and I suppose there is my birthday and Christmas to look forward to.

Thanks for visiting

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... you'd better watch your sister 'cos the fleet's in town!

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